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Many of you know about my love of The Brandy Thieves. A great Leicester based band with influences from folk, punk and soul, with a healthy dose of scar thrown in for good measure.

The Brandy Thieves came together in late 2012 during which time they have produced some of the best festival anthems around. So, it came as something of a surprise to find that, until November 2015, they had not produced an album! The guys have released a couple of ep’s but not a full album… well they have now it’s called ‘Old Tattoos’ and I got my hands on a copy of it!

Through their music, The Brandy Thieves use well crafted lyrics and an array of musical instruments to tell, in the great folk tradition, a story. Stories based on their experience of life. They tell stories of alcohol fueled benders and the kind of social commentary that can only come from a life well lived. Their songs are catchy and easy to get into and before you know it, you are hooked!

If their ep’s and live gigs tell you a story, then their new album, ‘Old Tattoos’, use those stories to take you on a journey; the journey of The Brandy Thieves. The album brings together their music from the very beginning of their existence to where they are today. In many ways the listeners become voyeurs, watching through sound, the very personal journeys these guys have gone through and which comes through in their lyrics and music.

I loved the new album, Old Tattoo’s and have it playing at least once a day, much to my kids annoyance; they are big fans of The Brandy Thieves but, they tell me, “you always have it on!”. Well that may be near the truth but I make no apologies for it! So The Brandy Thieves first album, Old Tattoo’s’, should be in everyone’s collection and I can hardly wait for their next one!

The Brandy Thieves are a very talented bunch who deserve to have much wider recognition than they currently enjoy! So, watch out Mumford and Son, you have some serious competition!!!

Hailing from Ilkeston in Derbyshire, Matt Henshaw describes his current location has Derby, Nottingham and Leicester… he gets about this guy! In fact, Matt Henshaw has to be one of the hardest working musicians around. It often seems there is not a day or night goes by that Matt is not adorning a stage somewhere in the UK, it’s quite understandable to suspect there may well be several Matt Henshaws, all cloned from the original, but no! I can assure you there is only one Matt Henshaw… only one, brilliantly talented, trend setting, soul saving, Matt Henshaw!

Matt describes his style of music as ‘rhythmic gospel’, and in doing so Matt invents a whole new genre which, without the blink of an eye or a scratch of music journalists head, the genre is accepted… and why not! What Matt does, and does expertly, is his own thing! He’s not bothered about ‘pigeon holes’ or classifications, he is bothered about his life and his life is music!

Matt has had something of a rebirth lately, standing-down from his University job to concentrate on relaunching his career in music, following his epiphany on the road to stardom and alcoholism which saw the demise of his former, and very highly rated, band ‘Censored’ in 2008. Since this time Matt has done some amazing things, from recording a cracking album with MC Rudimental st al, to re-launching his career. You can’t keep this guy down, he is determined, he’s confident and he is one of the most decent human beings I have had the pleasure of meeting he’s also destined for success!!!

TheGuyWithaStick have included a couple of Matt Henshaw tracks on the acoustic playlist on the ‘Feature’ tab at www.theguywithastick.com

The beautifully enchanting Elizabeth Cornish and her band, comprising of: on drums – Adam Wykes, bass – Jason Skinner and on additional guitar – Mark Riley Cardwell, are wonderful a tremendous acoustic folk band following in a great tradition, and doing it justice!

Influenced by the likes of David Gray, Alanis Morissette and Laura Marling (which comes across in Elizabeth’s guitar playing) with undertones of Susan Vega, Elizabeth Cornish and the band are becoming quite a force in the region. Elizabeth’s voice is well suited to the genre mature yet amazingly gentle…

… her finger-picking guitar play is highly complimented by Mark’s electric guitar and Jason’s bass play with it all brought together by Adam’s drums and Elizabeth’s vocal, and what vocals they are… a master class in folk pop!

I always thought that the best thing to happen on the 15th of March was my birthday, so you can imagine how distressed I was to be ‘gazumped’ by a piece of plastic!!! Ok! it wasn’t ‘just’ a ‘piece of plastic’, it was something much more precious it was the birth of an album… Elizabeth Cornish’s album called ‘Displaced’ which had it’s launch at the Cookie on March 15th this year… and what an album it is!

Below is the title track…

…It truly is a must for any music collection!

There’s an old saying about ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, well, in time, Elizabeth Cornish and the band will be those giants!

Elizabeth Cornish can be seen at Leicesters SimonSays Festival on the 27th July and at The Musician on the 19 August… and you just know in between these dates they’ll be playing somewhere. x

The music scene in the East Midlands is kicking at the moment and nowhere more so than Burton-on-Trent. Burton are producing some top artists and band, we have previously highlighted Wet Lettuce and the Magik Bean… who have recently signed a record deal with LMC Records, well here’s another band to keep an eye on… the awesome Arcadians!

Formed in 2013, The Arcadians are a 4 piece indie/rock band playing original compositions. The band comprise of: Jamie Cavanagh – Vocals & Lead Guitar, Ed Petch – Rhythm Guitar, Jack Lenaghan – Bass and Dan Alton – Drums. A busy bunch, they have been winning friends across the East Midlands and have received some good reviews, not least from Burton’s own ‘Brew Town’.f you like indie then The Arcadians are right up your street, we like… a lot!

On stage it’s clear they know their stuff, its also clear that they enjoy what they do. We at theguywithastick.com try to avoid comparisons but with The Arcadians it’s difficult not to see a little more than a hint of The Arctic Monkeys. but, don’t let that fool you! The Arcadians are very much their own people, this isn’t a tribute band, this is a top-notch indie band with some great riffs and original thought which comes through in well thought-out original compositions…

They have great stage presence and draw their audience in with some really catchy riffs clever lyrics, you can’t help but get involved. If you just want to stand a look at a band playing, then, The Arcadians may not be for you, but, if you want to go to a gig, get right into the music and come away feeling you got your monies worth, then, go and see The Arcadians… you won’t be sorry!

At theguywithastick.com we ask our people to write about how they feel about a band or artist, how they are moved and what they take away with them from a gig. We are not professional journalists and we reject, as much as possible, the requirement of professionals to ‘pigeon-hole’ everything and everyone. This is evident in the multitude of musical genres that purport to exist at the moment. If you constantly break everything down to its common denominator you limit yourselves, and, in the opinion of theguywithastick, you force artists to conform to that limited view, instead of enabling originality we stifle it! and then an artist, or in this case a band, comes along and sticks two fingers up to convention and with a swagger in their step and a wry grin on their faces, they set about ripping the guts out for the established ‘pigeon-holes’ and do what the hell they want… I give you The Brandy Thieves!!!

Listed as a four piece outfit, although they played as a five piece at the recent Western Park Festival, The Brandy Thieves, consisting of: Andrea Kenny, Cain Barriskill, Bernardo Mendes and Joe Carey, they play gypsy folk, in a punk rock manner, punctuated with ska… and they do it brilliantly!

Andrea’s mature, enigmatic, vocals start slow and clam enough but then she beats the crap out of you with fast guitar play and equally quick vocal hooks, aided and a betted by a rasping horn with bass and drums ensuring you can’t run off, and why would you want to? Their lyrics come across as joyful but they are drenched in social comment delivered in a rhythmic gypsy style, with two fingers in the air and smile on the face. Their energy is infectious, it’s simply impossible to stand still, you’ve got to move it… and then you’re hooked!!!

The Brandy Thieves are immense! They have won over audiences wherever they play and bit by bit they will take over the nation, the sooner the better!

So! would I pay good money to see The Brandy Thieves again, well it’s a no brainer… hell yes! However, there’s a gig I would love to see even more and that’s The Brandy Thieves on the same bill as Under A Banner, an electric folk rock band, reviewed by theguywithastick.com some months ago… I’m salivating at the thought!

Until that happens, theguywithastick.com have placed videos by both The Brandy Thieves and Under A Banner on the website along with tracks by both on the playlists under the ‘Feature’ tab.

There are some good bands playing the East Midlands at the moment, there are also some… shall we say… not so good! The Flying Kangaroo Alliance are in the shit-hot part of the range!

The Flying Kangaroo Alliance are a 4 piece alternative rock/punk band with influences of the 90’s ‘grunge’ scene. Band members, Meri Everitt – Vocals/Guitar, Ali Findlay – Guitar, Ivan Hunt – Drums (until the 5th July 2014) and Keeley Knight – Bass/Vocals, work well together. Keeley’s bass play and stage craft is great to hear and watch, Ali’s guitar play works well with Meri’s vocals and Ivan’s Drums are absolutely banging. All in all a very energetic bunch who demonstrate their craft as musicians and own every stage they play on. Clearly F.K.A are a band of note!

… but there’s much more to The Flying Kangaroo Alliance than your average rock band, much more indeed! The musicianship and stage-craft are good, but, what sets F.K.A apart from the rest are their challenging lyrics and the voice of Meri Everitt!

F.K.A write and sing about life as it affects them, its not pretty, it’s not feel-good but it is honest, its born out of adversity and demands you take heed… not in a dictatorial way, but, as an older sister or brother; not ‘do as I say’ more ‘this is our experience of…’ The lyrics are challenging, but, they are very truthful…

When I first saw F.K.A I wondered if they were about effect or were they genuine? and, then, I had the privilege of seeing Meri Everitt doing a solo gig and it became plainly obvious that her music is about honesty… blunt, pure, honesty! If I didn’t get it before, I got it now!

After the success of last year’s sell-out festival, Simon Says… returns to De Montfort Hall and Gardens.

Presented in partnership with three of Leicester’s most loved music venues, The Donkey, Firebug and The Musician, the festival is a celebration of local talent with some more nationally-recognised names complementing the line-up.

Headlining the weekend will be The South, featuring members of The Beautiful South and playing many of their original hits.

Alongside them will be new age reggae band By The Rivers, tipped as one of the “five future stars of the Pyramid Stage” by the BBC.

Building on last year’s success, this year the festival will have an expanded outdoor area with extra stage, a family area, more food stalls and real ale from event sponsor Hobgoblin.

With the perfect setting of De Montfort Hall’s beautiful gardens as well as the iconic hall itself, Simon Says… is the perfect city centre festival with a rural feel. Come and join us for the weekend.
Saturday 26 July

BY THE RIVERS
THE DT’S
VIBRONICS
DANNY & THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD
DAWSON SMITH & THE DISSENTERS
JOHN BUTLER

Energetic and charismatic, Casino Empire have been likened to The Rolling Stones of the early 1960’s. The lead vocalist demands attention from the audience, his style is theatrical his voice strong, almost rasping! Yes! you can see an early Mick Jagger but more so, you can see an early TOMMY COBLEY.. and thank you for it! its hard to understand how the rest of the band can get a look in BUT THEY DO and they do it in style!!!

A great bassline and a drummer who moves from one number to another with ease and professionalism add to that some very good guitar riffs and guitar solo, it is very obvious this is not a one-man band, this is a true rock ‘n’ roll band… a band that deserves your attention!

Casino Empire is a must see band! They are the reason I go to gigs! They are, simply, Sublime!

A 5 piece, alternative rock band from Derbyshire, with an in-your-face stage presence. Their style is, according to guys… ‘fed from their love of Funky-Punky wild sounds, with infusions of a mellow nature’…

As they were setting up, I thought.. here we go a bunch of mates with instruments… well I was right… in a very wrong kind of way!!

As they started their set, it was clear, these guys were here to impress! As they set about the task of converting the uninitiated. They produced a pretty impressive set of their own compositions including ‘Oceans’ and ‘Bad Llama’ which, incidentally, is not only pretty good, it’s also the title of their debut EP… and yes! I have it (bought and paid for)!

‘A bunch of mates with instruments’ well… yes! BUT a bunch of mates who know their stuff, who can actually play and sound great together and who’s stage presence oozed charisma. They deserve a much wider reputation than they currently have, which I’m sure will come and hopefully soon!

Following the gig I managed to have a chat with the guys, who were very keen that I got their names spelt right, they are: Kyle Jordan – Vocals/Lyricist, Gaz Waddell – Drums, Lewis Hutchings – Bass, Dan Houlbrooke – Guitar and Sam Wyatt also on Guitar. The chemistry between the guys is clear, not just on stage but personally, they clearly have a great deal of respect for each other and, dare I say, a lot of love too… in a barking mad, Burton-beer swigging, macho sort of way that is! Would I pay good money to see them again?… you bet I would… and I’m looking forward to it!

Their EP, Bad Llama, is a little cracker butdon’ttake my word for it, check out some of their stuff on ‘SoundCloud‘ or ‘YouTube’… better still, get off your butts and go see them for yourselves: